The University of Scranton women's basketball team used a balanced offense to notch its 18th consecutive victory, a 64-47 triumph over visiting Susquehanna on Wednesday night. The Lady Royals, who have already clinched the top seed in next week's Landmark Conference playoffs, improve to 23-1 (12-1 Landmark) on the year while finishing with a perfect 12-0 mark in the Long Center during the regular season.
Emily Sheehan (Dunmore, Pa./Dunmore) led Scranton with a season-high 16 points on a strong shooting night in which she went 5-6 from the floor including a 2-3 effort from three-point range while knocking down five of six free throw attempts.
Bridgette Mann (Canadensis, Pa./Wallenpaupack) added 13 points while Makenzie Mason (Doylestown, Pa./Central Bucks West) and Sofia Recupero (Whitestone, N.Y./St. Francis Prep) tallied 10 points each in the victory.
Susquehanna (11-12, 6-7 Landmark) opened the game with an 8-2 run and held a 13-11 edge at the end of the first quarter. Scranton took control of the game in the second period though, outscoring the River Hawks 14-3 in the stanza and closing the frame on an 8-0 burst to hold a 25-16 advantage at halftime. The hosts limited Susquehanna to just one field goal in the second quarter while building the nine-point lead.
The visitors narrowed their deficit to 27-21 a minute and a half into the third period before the Lady Royals used a 12-4 surge to claim a 39-25 lead midway through the period. Scranton stretched its cushion to 16 points entering the fourth quarter and maintained the double-digit lead the rest of the way to close out a four-game homestand with a victory.
In addition to her 10 points, Mason grabbed a team-high five rebounds, collected a career and game-best three steals, and tied for a game-high with four assists while Katie Broderick (New Fairfield, Conn./New Fairfield) also dished out four helpers for Scranton.
The Lady Royals shot 44.7 percent from the field in the contest including a solid 52.6 percent showing from beyond the arc while going 63.2 percent from the charity stripe.
Courtney Adams netted a game-high 17 points for Susquehanna while Erin McQuillen added 12 points in the loss. The River Hawks shot 34 percent from the field and were limited to just 14.3 percent from three-point range while converting 81.8 percent of their free throw attempts in the loss.
Scranton will close out the regular season on Saturday at Goucher. Opening tipoff between the Lady Royals and Gophers is set for 4:00 p.m. in Baltimore.